Till Our Time is Up
by Kura-Tokiwa69
Summary: He feared that he had flown too close to the fire; their story would never lead to a happy ending like in the stories and films, but with dreams and wishes whispered into each other's ears, Tsukishima wished their time could last forever. However, all good things must come to an end. Warning for character death.


Tsukishima didn't know what to expect when he was told there would be a new patient beside him and he hoped there would be as little interaction as possible. Unfortunately, that was not happening with the way his new neighbour came in with the most outrageous nest of a hairstyle and bright grin, questions directed at him non-stop.

He never shut up, continuing to pester him with incessant chattering and Tsukishima hated it, hated how cheerful Kuroo always was even though he was confined to these four walls like he was. For a long time, Tsukishima's suffering only grew.

But for the first time in a long while, Tsukishima wasn't alone.

Months spent in the hospital turned from torture into something a little more bearable, Kuroo's unyielding positivity ever so contagious that even Tsukishima had succumbed to it. The realisation of his contentment only came when one day after his treatment, the searing pain of the side effects could not be soothed until Kuroo held him tight in his arms for the entire night.

He feared that he had flown too close to the fire; their story would never lead to a happy ending like in the stories and films, and yet while he lacked hope, Kuroo made it up with the dreams of what they could have, the things Tsukishima could never conjure on his own.

With dreams and wishes whispered into each other's ears, Tsukishima wished their time could last forever.

However, all good things must come to an end.

* * *

Kuroo sprinted back to their ward the moment the doctor informed him of his discharge, hoping to share the news with Tsukishima but the sight of nurses and doctors crowding round his bed set off warning bells in his head and he feared for the worst.

He forced his way past the medical staff till he was by Tsukishima's bedside, seeking out his hand to grasp tightly. "T-Tsukki?… Please tell me you're gonna be okay… Tsukki?" He hadn't realise how much he had been trembling until Tsukishima gave a weak squeeze, forcing out a smile upon his pale lips. Kuroo watched Tsukishima's chest rise and fall in staggered breaths and he was just so afraid, so damn afraid he would suddenly stop breathing and leave him all alone. "You can't go! Not yet! I-I have to take you to see the world! We haven't played volleyball together yet! You can't just leave me like this! We… We have to go to high school together and… And our dreams…"

"It's… Fine… Kuroo…" Every word that left his mouth physically hurt Tsukishima so much, the oxygen mask fogging up with each breath and gasp. He knew he didn't have much time left but he didn't want his last memory of Kuroo to be so tragically pathetic. "You have so much going for you… Go take on… the world on my behalf… And… smile for me… Please…"

None of this seemed real, surely it had to be some sort of sick dream or alternate reality. "Can I kiss you?" Kuroo leaned in closer to whisper, a hand gently caressing Tsukishima's cold cheeks.

Tsukishima seemed mildly taken aback but with the sudden flush of life upon his cheeks and slight nod to go by, Kuroo pressed on, shifting the mask as his lips met Tsukishima's so tenderly, almost scared to break what seemed like the most fragile work of art beneath him. His tongue peeked out to trace over cracked lips before gently kissing him once more as a reassurance.

Oh God no.

 _No._

Too real.

Tsukishima smiled when Kuroo moved on to kiss his falling tears away, reluctant to leave. "Idiot… Now go… and be happy…"

The staff pulled him away too quickly, too soon. Pulled him away from his friend whom he would never see again. "I'm sorry but Tsukishima-kun's condition has seriously deteriorated, you need to step back so we can help him." Kuroo could do nothing but scream for Tsukishima till his throat turned hoarse and raw as they dragged him out of the room. The doors that slammed shut felt like a death sentence for him instead and he slumped in his seat with only wracked sobs filling the corridor. Barely five minutes in, Tsukishima's family arrived, barging into the room where cries erupted again and Kuroo had the palms of his hand pressed over his ears to shut everything out. It wasn't supposed to end like this, this was just too unfair. He was the one with the incurable illness, not Tsukishima.

"Hey… Kuroo, right?"

He raised his head to meet Akiteru's teary gaze, a small book in his outstretched hand.

"Kei wanted you to have this…" The word 'diary' and Tsukishima's name was engraved on the leather cover and Kuroo guessed that was what Tsukishima always seemed to be writing in during the nights he couldn't fall asleep. "Thank you for staying by his side as his friend…"

Kuroo didn't know how to respond without breaking down into tears again so he settled for a nod, hugging the book tightly against his chest. As he lowered the diary to run his fingers over the ridges and bumps of the engraving, Kuroo slowly opened it to the first entry, reading the neatly written words about how bitter and pessimistic Tsukishima felt about being stuck in that prison of a hospital.

All of Tsukishima's anger and pain were projected into the pages, emotions bleeding through like ink on paper; blotted and chaotic from a too-tight grip, pressed too hard onto the parchment to the point of tearing.

Halfway through the journal, feelings of resentment and bitterness slowly diminished, his strokes lighter though with slight hesitance and Kuroo realised, it began when he was admitted in. His heart swelled with a bittersweet aching as he read on, oblivious to the tears that trickled down his cheeks to the pages. Tsukishima talked about the things he'd like to do with Kuroo if they were free from their shackles. What their futures would entail. What they would do _together_.

Kuroo almost wanted to give up reading, he couldn't see it through, not now, possibly not ever, but Akiteru urged him to continue to the end. As painful as it was, Kuroo did, till the last entry where he sat frozen, staring at the beautifully calligraphed words that were carefully printed in the centre of the page, dated that morning when Kuroo had left for his check-up.

 _Thank you for being my light when I had lost mine, Tetsurou. Till we meet again._

The book fell from Kuroo's hands and there was no stopping the emotional dam that had just been broken, head held low as he wailed, trembling hands balling into fists in his lap. He only cried even harder when Tsukishima's mother came over to pull him into a tight embrace, joined by the rest of the family a few seconds later. Never had he felt so much warmth from a family but it shouldn't have to be like this. Tsukishima should have been here, in this family hug. Not him. He was just an outsider. He was just a burden child to his own—

She pressed a gentle kiss upon Kuroo's head, composing herself before speaking. "Kuroo… You've done so much for Kei…"

 _No I haven't._

"You made him so much happier here than we ever could…"

 _I didn't do anything. In the end I couldn't._

"We just want you to know that we're here for you and you're welcomed to our home anytime… Kei… Kei would have wanted that."

"I don't deserve it…" Kuroo quietly muttered in between sobs.

"You do, Kuroo. You do. Kei never stops talking about you and he loves you so very much… You are part of our family as much as he is, so please, be happy, for his sake."

* * *

The extra three years that he had been blessed with were the best times of his life, Kuroo thought as he laid back in the bed, the steady beep of the machine ringing through the sterile air. His illness had relapsed and though people thought it unfortunate for it to occur at the prime of his youth, Kuroo had no regrets and if his time was up, he would gladly go. Smoothing a thumb over the worn cover of Tsukishima's diary, Kuroo opened it to the page after Tsukishima's last entry where he was determined to continue filling up the remaining pages with his own adventures. The experience he had in high school and his volleyball team, the matches they've had, the friendships he forged, Kuroo wrote everything down as if he expected Tsukishima to read it.

And he'd always believed that one day, he would.

With a shaky breath, he flipped to the last remaining blank page to complete it, staring at the finished sentence in amusement. "Sorry my handwriting isn't as nice as yours…" Setting down the pen, Kuroo shut the book and clutched it over his heart, eyelids growing heavy and he wondered how the fireflies he was seeing in his room got in. With nothing but a smile on his face, his consciousness faded, leaving all but faint image of Tsukishima taking his hand.

 _Thank you for lighting my way, Kei. I'll see you soon._

 _End._

* * *

Sweeps the broken pieces of my heart into the trash. Even cliched plots like this kill me.

This is why I don't write angst _(:3_/


End file.
